I am looking for a good dried food (not too expensive) that will be good for dry skin and glossy coats. Would prefer a smaller kibble if possible :-)

Hi Angels2, its cavaliers you have isn't it?? I feed our 3 dogs on Arden Grange lamb & rice, our Cavaliers coat has never looked better or shinier. She had awful dry skin patches on her back end which  completely vanished after about 4 weeks of feeding AG. Its not too pricey and the kibble is ideally sized for a cav. Gypsy can also be fussy about her food but she adores AG. I bought my last lot from ebay as they had 2 bags on offer.

Add about 1 1/2 teaspoons of sunflower oil to your dogs feed every day. A healthy shiny coat needs linoleic acid and vitamin E, both of which come in their most digestable form in sunflower oil. I use Tescos own brand. You should start to notice a difference after about 3 weeks.

RC make a complete died food for Cavs :)

I am going to add sunflower oil to their food and see if that has a difference alone before changing to Arden Grange/Royal Canin as they are alot more expensive than the food I am currently feeding (wafcol - £15 for 15kg). I previously have fed Burgess Supadog (as this was the food that the youngest came on) and Hills (the worst food I have used) so I try not to go on price alone but what tends to agree with them, the current brand has been good for them as in they have healthy appetites and wolf it all down (a first for my eldest) and my eldest has dry skin (since a puppy) that has been better with this food but because his coat is quite long it can look less shiny in the summer. :-)

My wsd has the shiniest coat around - walked around an agility competition the other day and she was by far the best looking red and white - but then I would say that wouldn't I.  I feed Burns.

The best coat mine had was when fed on Royal Canin, unfortunately the kibble was too large and she went off it.  I now feed Arden Grange with good results. When I tried Burns their coat went very dry and dull.  Just goes to show what suits one doesn't suit another.

Angels2, I think you get what you pay for, if you want a good quality food then it will cost more, if you only have a Cavalier then I would have thought a 15kg bag would last you ages even if it does work out a bit more expensive.

> Angels2, I think you get what you pay for

I would normally agree with you but having tried Hills and royal canin before (although not the breed specific) then I have to disagree, you have said yourself that what suits one doesn't suit another. It has taken a while for us to get to a food that they are both happy with (previously my eldest would be sick on every few days and just refuse to eat). As I said cost isn't the only consideration but I am afraid for us it IS a factor in our decision, there are alot of foods that i wouldn't feed and I happen to think that Wafcol is actually a good food (it was recommended on here by several people!)

I have 2 Cavaliers by the way ;-)

I think that's a very wise move Angels2. Some of the more expensive complete feeds DO seem to give them a shinier coat, but that is because they add oils to the feed during manufacturing. I have a sister who is a catering manager for the NHS and she told me that a very large national pet food manufacturer regularly goes to all the hospital kitchens in our area and collects all the old, used oil to add to their pet foods. They also collect from chip shops and restaurants, ugh. I keep my dogs' basic feed very simple and cheap, terrier meal and tripe, then I add my own extras in the form of sunflower oil and fresh vegetables etc. Mine love raw carrots and shredded raw cabbage. Potatoes are also full of nutrients so when you're cooking your spuds, do an extra one for the dog. I also give cooked lentils at least twice a week as these are full of the amino acids which dogs needs, when I have a bitch in whelp they get lentils every day.

Yes they also get a mini roast on a sunday with us :-o

I hadn't thought of lentils but thats a great idea I will give them a go aswell. When I was talking to my griend about dog food she was amazed when we broke down the ingredients of some well known dog food which she had always assumed was really good because of the expensive price tag. If I hadn't joined this site then I too would have believed that expensive = the best.
When feeding the raw carrots do you give them whole or cut up/shredded?

Sometimes I give them a whole carrot to crunch as a treat, but when I add them to the feed I dice them.

Thanks for the lentils hint I'll try some of that.

Bought a new bag of Burns a few days ago - it has gone up in price again.  The pet shop owner says there is another price rise due in Oct.  Haven't the time to research alternative at the moment - he did give me a sample of Skinners Duck and Rice - never heard of that before.

ceejay, Skinners is a working dog food, its quite cheap but I think its quite good quality for that range.  I used to feed it myself but now feed Burns, has it gone up by alot ? one of my boys has allergies so its ideal for him.

Saw a price list the other day and it has gone up alot imo. Most of the 15kg bags are now £41.99, with a few of them (venison/rice, duck/rice, and high energy lamb) now at £43.99. The second stage of the price increase will come into effect from the 1st October - can see the £43.99 ones heading towards £50 then!

that is alot isnt it, I might pick up a bag of Arden Grange at my next show and see how they like that.  I would like to feed them both on Royal Canin but they only do food with chicken in  and one of mine is chicken intollerant.

I used to feed Skinners Salmon and Rice and my dog did have a nice shiney coat  BUT if you look you have to feed a lot of skinners my breed would have been 9 cups A DAY!! I now feed Healthy Paws Rabbit and Brown Rice and I think it is the best thing since sliced bread.. and not one runny pooh since the day I started so I am very happy

I've changed to Arden Grange from Nutro, and have to say I'm very impressed with it. Dogs are eating it with gusto ... but nothing new there! I'm using the lamb and the salmon versions.

M.

>I would like to feed them both on Royal Canin but they only do food with chicken in  and one of mine is chicken intollerant. <

I have that problem too.  They are both fine on on Arden Grange Lamb & Rice.

I looked at that food (healthy paws rabbit ) at Windsor show but it has chicken in it would you believe !!

just looked at AG website and all of their foods contain chicken fat, even the salmon and lamb varieties - looks like we will be sticking with Burns !

Without wanting to sound like an Arden Grange advert ( since I work for them!), if a dog is intolerant to an ingredient, it will only be affected by the PROTEIN in that ingredient- not the fat content. So a dog with a chicken allergy will be fine on either our Lamb and Rice or Sensitive- both contain only chicken fat, not chicken protein. We use chicken fat in all varieties as it is the best quality and most easily digested fat source available.
Hope this helps!
Liz

If you work for them Liz, I have a complaint..........why do they only deliver with two bags packed to one box, I guess it is cost, but RC and Pro Plan don't do it.

The delivery man wont carry it down the drive and he can't get his pallet truck down it.  I can't lift two bags at once, so either have to split the box at the top of the drive (often in the rain) or hope someone doesn't take it waiting for OH to come home and lift it.  If the driver says it is too heavy surely it shouldn't be delivered in a 30 kilo package.

I did mention it on the stand at Crufts, but no one seemed interested.

I use Skinners salmon and rice, seems to suit them fine, though I do have to feed a little more of it.  Costs £24 per 15kg bag, which is quite reasonable.

If you work for them Liz, I have a complaint..........why do they only deliver with two bags packed to one box, I guess it is cost, but RC and Pro Plan don't do it.

The delivery man wont carry it down the drive and he can't get his pallet truck down it.  I can't lift two bags at once, so either have to split the box at the top of the drive (often in the rain) or hope someone doesn't take it waiting for OH to come home and lift it.  If the driver says it is too heavy surely it shouldn't be delivered in a 30 kilo package.

I did mention it on the stand at Crufts, but no one seemed interested.

Hmmm, not quite sure, but I guess it is probably to keep costs down, since Business Post charge per box. I think they charge us about 8.00 per box delivered, and although the delivery charge we charge customers doesn't cover the full cost, if we put only 1 bag in each box, we would need to charge a fortune to deliver it!
Liz

I'd still give it a go Claire, I remember you having problems getting weight onto Fagan, yes? I was feeding Rory on James Wellbeloved, but I changed to Arden Grange because he had the most appalling wind on JWB.

Although I didn't have an issue with his weight really, he was only six months old at the time, so I expected him to be thin........ish. However he really bulked up on the Arden Grange in just a couple of weeks, in fact it would be easy for him to get fat, so I'll have to watch his intake. So it would be worth trying Arden Grange, they do little bags to trial. :)

Dawn R.

Perhaps you should look at changing your delivery company, most will charge by weight.  I am sure I cannot be the only customer with the problem.  Other then the delivery it is a first quality food but I am thinking of changing because I seem to have a row with the driver each time he delivers.

Some of the drivers are real job's worths, while some are really helpful. Just depends on which depot it comes from. We have trialled other courier companies but they were far worse!!
Liz

I'm absolutely amazed at the price of complete feeds. This is my feed list for a week. 1 bag of terrier meal -£5.40. 14lb of tripe - £5.60. 10lb of trimmings from the butcher - £2.00. 1/4 sack of carrots from horse feed merchant @ £5.00 per sack - £1.25. Sunflower oil - £1.30. 1 bag lentils - £1.69. Cabbage - free for most of the year as we grow our own. Total cost of feeding 8 Labradors £17.24 per week. £2.15 per dog. I shudder to think how much it would cost if I fed a complete feed. My dogs are all fit and healthy. I'm always being complimented on their shiny coats and they always look forward to feeding time.

I have the opposite problem with Alf - he puts weight on easily, Fagan is still quite slim and he eats 2lb of meat and 300g burns a day !!!

not sure what to do really, I dont want them both on different foods.

Saxon what is terrier meal?  You are lucky you have a butcher to get stuff from - not sure if Tesco's would do that!  Anyone know?  I have only one dog to feed and I need to keep live simple at the moment.  It is more than enough thinking what to give humans never mind the dog.   Sounds an interesting mix anyway.

I wish I had a labrador, must be nice to have a dog that eats anything you put in front of it, mine turn their noses up at terrier meal :(

Saxon - terrier meal is like winolot mixer biscuit.

Hi ceejay, terrier meal is just the plain old biscuit, like winalot mixer, but I buy it from Fold Hill in big sacks. You wouldn't be able to get trimmimgs from a supermarket, they have to follow EU regs to the letter, but if you have a friendly local butcher you may be able to get scraps, especially if he is a dog lover, explain that you are on a tight budget and you need to feed your little doggie and bat your eyelashes at him. It will save him having to incinerate the offcuts. Don't worry if some of it looks a bit fatty, if you saw what goes into commercial pet feeds you would blanch. I roast it until it's nice and crispy, then I drain off the juices into a jug and put that in the fridge until the fat has set on the top of the jug, then remove the fat and use the meat juices on the dogs feed along with the chopped up meat. Also, don't worry if some of it smells a bit high, dogs digestion can cope with most things. In the wild, they are scavengers and will eat the most disgusting stuff without harm.

Will have to file all this away for a future date  - sounds good - I bet my Meg would love it - she is a scavenger and tries to eat anything she finds.

salmon oil works wonders!

I give egg yolks - well I have a health fiend in the house who eats lots of egg whites for the protein but not the yolks so the dog gets 3 a day and loves it.  she has a really shiny coat too.